South Korea has found more than two dozen bone fragments presumed to be from troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War during recent excavation work in a former battle site, the defense ministry said Thursday. The military has discovered 26 bone pieces and 5,132 articles, including combat gear, in the White Horse Ridge, the site inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. Many of them are thought to be from fallen South Korean troops, the ministry said. In September, the minis

Defense Oct. 28, 2021

S-Oil Corp., South Korea's No. 3 oil refiner, said Thursday its net income surged by elevenfold in the third quarter from a year earlier, driven by strong sales of petrochemical and lube base oil products. Net income came to 334.5 billion won ($285 million) in the July-September period, compared with 30.3 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit reached 549.4 billion won, swinging to black from an operating loss of 9.2 billion won the previous year.

Industry Oct. 28, 2021

South Korea's military reported four additional COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,023, the defense ministry said. A Navy officer stationed in Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive after a family member was infected, according to the ministry. Three Army draftees were also infected. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 1,966, or 97 percent, have been fully cured, with 57 still under treatment. (Yonhap)

Defense Oct. 28, 2021

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday on advances in tech shares, which fueled hopes of a strong earnings report season. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 5.68 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,031.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks opened nearly flat amid the tussle between the expectations of strong quarterly gains and concerns over rising price pressure. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.74 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

Market Oct. 28, 2021

The Constitutional Court was set to rule Thursday on whether to accept the National Assembly's impeachment of a judge, now retired, accused of meddling in politically sensitive trials chaired by other judges during the previous administration. The National Assembly voted on Feb. 4 to impeach Lim Seong-geun, then a judge at the Busan High Court, for allegedly meddling in several sensitive cases in the past, most notably a libel case filed by the former Park Geun-hye government against a Japanese

Politics Oct. 28, 2021

North Korea has completed building 1,000 more houses in the northwestern city of Samjiyon near the border with China, state media reported Thursday, as part of a major development project under way at the birthplace of leader Kim Jong-un's late father. "Shock brigade" members of the 216 Division "made the shining achievements of concluding the construction of all the dwelling houses they were tasked to fulfill," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (K

North Korea Oct. 28, 2021

South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases surged to more than 2,100 on Thursday, as the virus spread is gaining ground amid efforts to ease the distancing rules and return to normalcy. The country added 2,111 fresh COVID-19 cases, including 2,095 local infections, raising the total caseload to 358,412, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is the first time in 20 days that the daily caseload has surpassed the 2,000 mark. The daily count was 1,952 the previous day, 1,

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday reported strong third-quarter earnings on the continued robust performance of its key semiconductor business. Its net profit rose 31.3 percent from a year earlier to 12.29 trillion won ($10.5 billion) in the July-September period, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit jumped 28 percent in the third quarter to 15.82 trillion won, the largest since the third quarter of 2018. Sales hit a quarterly re

Industry Oct. 28, 2021

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for an absolute majority of businesses in South Korea, with their workforces taking up nearly 83 percent of all corporate employees, data showed Thursday. As of 2019, smaller firms in Asia's fourth-largest economy numbered 6.89 million, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 99.9 percent of all companies here, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The number of their employees stood at 17.44 million, up 2

Industry Oct. 28, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The US State Department on Wednesday expressed its condolences for the recent death of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo. "We send our deepest condolences to the people of the Republic of Korea (ROK) for the passing of former President Roh Tae-Woo," the department said in a released statement, referring to South Korea by its official name. "While former President Roh leaves a complicated legacy, his tenure included solidification of the ROK's democratic tra

Foreign Affairs Oct. 28, 2021

President Moon Jae-in was set to leave for Italy on Thursday for a meeting with Pope Francis and a G20 summit with other global leaders expected to focus on tackling climate crisis and helping the world end the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, Moon will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula and efforts to end the pandemic. Moon and Pope Francis are expected to exchange their wisdom to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and resolve pending global issues,

Politics Oct. 28, 2021

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated four new federal attorneys, including a woman of Korean descent. Cindy Chung, an assistant US attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, has been nominated to become US attorney for the same district she has been serving since 2014, according to the White House. The White House said Chung has served in numerous leadership positions at the Pennsylvania office, including acting deputy chief of the violent crimes section and depu

Foreign Affairs Oct. 28, 2021

The government plans to pay about 960 billion won ($820 million) to the victims of the bloody 1948-1954 suppression of a civilian uprising on Jeju Island, the interior ministry said Wednesday, marking the largest state compensation for civilian victims connected to past tragedies. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the government has finalized the plan to pay compensation of 90 million won per person to 10,101 victims of the so-called Jeju April 3 incident. If the individual compensati

Politics Oct. 27, 2021

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, said Wednesday it will build a battery separator production plant in Hungary with Japanese chemical giant Toray Industries Inc. as part of efforts to expand its presence in the European market. Under the 50:50 joint venture deal, the two companies will invest over a combined 1 trillion won ($854.7 million), aiming for annual production of 800 million square meters of separators, the key component used in rechargeable batteries, by 2028, LG C

Industry Oct. 27, 2021

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday as investors attempted to cash in gains amid concerns that the corporate earnings may wane after a strong third quarter. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 23.59 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,025.49 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 598 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won (US$8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 626 to 232. Foreigners sold a net 2

Market Oct. 27, 2021